WHERE LEADERS RETHINK HOW STRATEGY WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD
The traditional approach to strategy is broken.
In a world that won’t sit still, leaders can’t rely on outdated models built for stability and control.
Strategy Meets Reality is a podcast for leaders, strategists, and thinkers who want real insight—not theory. Hosted by organisational psychologist and systems thinker Mike Jones, each episode cuts through the noise with honest conversations from people who’ve lived the complexity, made the tough calls, and rethought what strategy means in practice.
🎧 New episodes every Tuesday
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Latest Episode
Ep. 21 – Value as the Compass: Hunter Hastings on Systems Thinking, Autonomy, and Organising for Impact
Guest: Hunter Hastings
“Profit is the result of creating value—not the reason for doing it.”
In this episode, Hunter Hastings—strategist, author, and leading voice in systems thinking—joins Mike Jones to challenge the profit-first mindset in business. They explore why value creation should guide strategy, how autonomy fuels performance, and why leadership is about removing barriers, not tightening control.
From shifting focus from efficiency to effectiveness, to rethinking power structures and embracing adaptability, this is a practical conversation for leaders who want to organise for lasting impact.
All Episodes
Ep. 15 Diagnosing the Real Problem: Michael Negendahl on Risk, Control, and Leading in Complexity
Control is comforting, but often a trap. In this episode, Michael Negendahl joins Mike Jones to explore why so much strategy and safety work is performative, how leaders confuse the perception of control with real progress, and why diagnosing problems comes before declaring solutions. From risk management to distributed intelligence, this is a candid look at leading in complexity.
Meet your Host:
Mike Jones
Mike Jones is a systems thinker, organisational psychologist, and former British Army soldier.
He’s worked as a strategy and execution advisor to senior executives across rail, tech, and government to rethink how strategy actually works in complexity.
He founded LBI Consulting and author of the upcoming book When Strategy Meets Reality.
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